Union reaches deal with Philadelphia city workers to end 9-day strike
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A union representing thousands of city workers in Philadelphia and the city have reached a deal to end a more than weeklong strike that halted residential curbside trash pickup and affected other services, officials said Wednesday.
Nearly 10,000 blue-collar employees from District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees walked off the job July 1, seeking better pay and benefits after failing to agree with the city on a new contract.
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Trash piles up around dumpsters in Philadelphia as thousands of city workers remained on strike Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
The tentative agreement was announced on what would have been the ninth day of the strike.
Mayor Cherelle Parker announced the end of the strike and the agreement with the union on social media. “The work stoppage involving the District Council 33 and the City of Philadelphia is OVER,” she posted.
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A man drops off trash at a garbage collection site, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
“We have reached a tentative agreement with District Council 33, which must be ratified by its membership on a new three-year contract that, coupled with the one-year contract extension we agreed to last fall, will increase DC 33 members’ pay by 14 percent over my four years in office.”
District Council 33 is the largest of four major unions representing city workers. Its membership includes 911 dispatchers, trash collectors, water department workers and many others. Police and firefighters weren’t part of the strike.
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Trash is cleaned up at a drop-off site in Philadelphia as thousands of city workers remained on strike Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)
“The strike is over! Details forthcoming,” the union posted on Facebook Wednesday morning.
The city had designated about 60 sites as drop-off centers for residential trash, but some were overflowing, while striking workers on hand asked residents not to cross the picket line. Most libraries across the city were closed, with support workers and security guards off the job.